The entrance to the head office of Canadian movie theater company Cineplex Entertainment.
george socka | iStock Editorial | Getty Images
Universal has inked another deal with a major theater chain, shortening the theatrical window from three months to 17 days.
On Friday, the company announced that it had come to a multi-tie-up with Cineplex, Canada’s largest movie theater chain, to allow three full weekends of theatrical exclusivity before being allowed to launch on the premium video on-demand platform .
The deal also decides that if a title grosses $ 50 million or more in its opening weekend, the film will play exclusively in theaters for at least five full weekends or 31 days before it becomes available on PVOD . The full terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Donna Langley, president, said, “With the growth in digital, streaming and cord cutting accelerating audience fragmentation, our industry is facing unprecedented issues right now. The statement from Universal Films Entertainment Group said is.
Universal has made similar deals with AMC and top exhibitors in the US, and is the only major studio to reach such an agreement with exhibitors.
There are only 600 movie theaters in Canada, of which 165 belong to the Cineplex. Canadian box office totals are included in the North American tally, which is used by the industry to determine the film’s success during its opening and full run in theaters.
Universal plans five theatrical releases for the remaining two months of 2020. “The Croads: A New Age” is based on Thanksgiving and the company has four titles in December: “Half Brothers,” “All My Life,” “News of the World” and “Promising Young Women.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.